Uprising in the Middle East Forum

The Uprising in the Middle East lecture with Dr. Dorraj, Carter, and Dodson focused on more than the current events. Rather, it took an all encompassing approach to the topic with a look at the context of the events, the U.S. foreign policy, and the challenges to democracy in the region.

            First, the context of the events can be broken into three categories: historical, enabling factors, and the human element. Historically, these events are the first time the population of the area has had the opportunity to revolt with their own voice. The previous colonial powers of the dominant European forces and the resulting hand-picking of inadequate leaders. Following such detrimental events was the coup d’état with the Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya. These revolts were democratic but ended in a suppressive autocratic state of normalcy and have continued since then. The enabling factors of the events include the significant youth bulge and social media. For example, Egypt has a young population that doesn’t have a memory of the previous revolts and their results. They also have access to social media that illustrates the civil rights of democratic nations. These two combined create a powerful yet leaderless force. The high unemployment rate and tech savvy youth were empowered by the absence of fear. Because these countries require the Internet to provide basic services and keep their economies running, they can’t hinder the free-flow of ideas and rising up. For once, these nations have no fear and that leads to a sort of dignity revolution. They were ready for the opportunity to change the disparity in wealth and oppression. They broke down the psychological walls. Will they be able to power forward toward democracy?

            The U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has been arguably self-serving. It focused on issues such as:

·      Peace and stability

·      Access to oil

·      Support or tolerance of Israel

·      Containing Iranian influences after 1979

·      Support on the War on Terror after 9/11

The shift from the self-serving to seemingly globally concerned came with George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq and the declaration that America was no longer pleased with the so-called “moderates.” The issue becomes that if we don’t support these new nations we are hypocritical and are doomed to return to a selfish policy. If we do support these uprisings, we are throwing out national interest out the window, a rock and a hard place analogy. Who’s in charge and can we get involved yet? Is this a revolution or the birthplace of civil war? These are questions that will be answered in the next years.

With the unrest we must ask what democracy means to these countries. If we simply put “freedom” then that means we these countries rid themselves of authoritarian powers, self-serving leaders, unfair elections, and corruption. This could be the fourth wave of democracy, yet the failure or semi-failure of the third wave that started in Portugal? Democracy is possible but it will require accountability, participation, and a little bit of luck.

Overall, I found the forum extremely informative and interesting. I feel as though I better understand how social media is not only a tool but a weapon and must be handled with care. In the future, hopefully we can see a freedom for the people like never before.